Merriman lands Bills on another dubious national list

By Matt Chandler – Editor for The Buffalo Law Journal, Buffalo Business First

Dec 5, 2012, 9:25am ESTUpdatedDec 6, 2012, 11:14am EST

Though it may be hard to believe, there is something positive that has come out of last week’s murder/suicide involving Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher — a spotlight has been focused on the issue of domestic violence.

Before turning the gun on himself Belcher shot and killed his live-in-girlfriend and that has given domestic violence groups a voice to speak out and remind people that domestic violence is prevalent in every community in America, and more needs to be done to educate the public and curb the disturbing trend of abuse.

It also led Slate.com blogger Justin Peters to do some research and put together an eye-opening blog exploring the link between domestic violence and the NFL.

According to Peters, 21 of the 32 NFL teams have at least one player on the roster that has been charged with either domestic violence or sexual assault. It's hard (at least for me) to believe that in 2012, that would be possible.

I quickly scanned Peters’ article, hoping that for once, my Buffalo Bills would come out on the positive side of something – anything at this point. But alas, it wasn’t to be. It turns out that Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman was arrested and charged with battery and false imprisonment after being accused of choking his former girlfriend, reality star Tia Tequila, in 2009.

He appears to be the lone Bill who makes the dubious list, meaning if they had left the oft-injured Merriman on the scrap pile they had discarded him to during the off-season, this would have been one time the Bills could have ended up on the right side of a national list. But instead, they turned the lights on for Lights Out, and with thus became the 21st team to employ a player this season with an ugly black mark on his life resume.